Attachment for can covers



' wrrN asses Nov. 18, 1924. G. A. CLEMENT ATTACHMEN: FOR CAN (*QVERS' FiIe d- June 9, 1923 i {all 1 5 H" INVENTOR 6 8 1 Clemeni Patented Nov. 18, 1924.

' UNITED STATES GEORGE CLEMENT, 0F DUBAND, ILLINOIS.

ATTACHMENT FOR CAN COVERS.

Application filed June 9, 1923. Serial No. 644,484.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be 1t known that I, GEORGE A. CLEMENT, a. citizen of the United States, residlng at Durand, in the county of Vinnebago and State of Ill nois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Attachments for Can Covers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to attachments for can covers.

The object is to provide a device in the form of a fork, spoon or other similar dispens'ng implement, which may be readily applied to the inside of an ordinary can lid or cover and held securely therein when not in use, until the. said lid is in covering relation to the can, and which may be as readily detached from the cover, after the same has been removed, and used for measuring or removing the contents of the can, whether the same be in powdered, lump or liquid form.

Another object is to provide a device of this character which may be easily and cheaply manufactured from suitable sheet metal to be placed with n the can cover and sold therewith, after filling and sealing the same, the said implement or attachment being usually discarded with the can when empty.

A full and complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from a consideration of the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification; it being understood that while the drawing shows a practical form of the invention, the latter is not to be confined to strict conformity with the showing thereof, but may he changed or modified, so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention, as specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing, in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures Figure 1 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken through an ord nary can and cover and having the improved implement applied thereto;

Figure 2 is an inverted plan view of the lid or cover removed from the can and showing the manner of applying the device thereto;

Figure 3 is a detail perspective view of the attachment;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a slightly modified form of the invention, removed from the can cover.

Referring to the drawing in Figure 1, there is shown a can or box 1, which may be made of tin or other sheet metal, or of paste board, as the case may be, depending upon the nature of the contents to be placed therein. The can or box, while being shown in circular form, may be of any other cross sect onal formation, as will be readily un derstood, and the lide or cover 2 thereof may be of the usual construction having a mar ginal, depending flange 3 having an interior form or size to snugly fit on the outside of the upper, open end of the can or box and be frictionally held thereon.

A spoon shaped paddle 4 is adapted to be placed within the lid or cover and, by its inherent expanding tendency to be frictionally held between the opposite sides of the flange 3 of the cover, when the latter is in closing relation to the can, the ends of the paddle resting on the upper edge of the can. The major portion of the paddle 4 consists of a relatively narrow shank 5 having its free end 6 formed on the arc of a circle to fit the interior wall of the flange of the lid or cover, while at the other end, the paddle is enlarged into an oval or spoon shaped head 7, the same being shown, in the first form of the invention, as disclosed in Figures 1, 2 and 8, fiat and resting throughout its upper surface, against the underside of the can lid or cover with the curved edge fitting against the interior wall of the flange 3 of the lid or cover.

At an intermediate point between the inner end of the enlarged head 7 and the rounded end 6 of the shank, a downwardly extending spring loop 8 is formed of the metal of the shank of the implement, the entrance or throat of said loop being somewhat constricted, so as to give a normal tendency to the ends of the paddle or implement to expand or increase in length, and it is through such expansive force, that the de vice is held within the lid or cover, as will be readily understood.

When the contents of the can or box have been placed therein, the cover, with the at tachment held therein, is placed over the open end of the same and forced downwardly to resting relation thereon, when the can may be hermetically sealed to preserve its contents and to maintain the same in sanitary condition. By breaking or removing the sealing medium, the cover may be removed from the can and, by grasping the loop 8 between the thumb and forefinger and compressing the same, the ends of the paddle or other implement are forced towards each other, and the same is freed from the lid to be used in removing the desired quantity of material from the can, after which, the attachment may be again applied to the cover and the latter placed over the can for repeated use.

In Figure 4 of the drawing the enlarged, oval-shaped head is pressed into a spoon bowl 9 to form an attachment especially adapted for use in connection with cans for holding liquids or powders, the first described form of the invention having been found advantageous for use in dispensing certain materials, such as snuff, or other powdered medicines or materials, where only a small quantity is desired, while the form of the invention having the spoon bowl 9 may be made of certain sizes and capacity differing in different cans.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a simple, cheaply manufactured and useful attachment has been provided which may be readily applied to can covers after using, and the said cover placed over the can to be always at hand when needed, and that the same does not occupy any material space within the can or box, and is always properly supported, when the cover is on, and prevented from falling into the box or can.

What is claimed is:

1. A fork or spoon having at an intermediate point of its length an offset spring loop depending from one side thereof to form a combined handle and compressible means for attaching or detaching the article from a holding element.

2. An article of table ware having at an intermediate point of its length an offset spring loop depending from one side there of to form a combined handle and compressible means for attaching to or detaching the article from a supporting element.

3. An attachment for can or box covers which are each provided with a marginal flange, said attachment consisting of a shank having a resilient portion with a normal tendency to expand and frictionally engage said flange to maintain the attachment in connection with the cover, said resilient portion constituting a handle by which the attachment is applied and removed from the cover.

4. .An attachment for can or box covers having a marginal flange, said attachment having a normal tendency to expand and frictionally engage the opposite inner walls end curved to fit the inner wall of said flange, and a bowl formed at the other end,

said shank being formed, between the bowl' and the rounded end, into an offset spring loop depending from one side thereof to form a combined handle and compressing means for attaching to or detaching the device from the cover.

7. In a can or box having its cover provided with a marginal flange, an attachment therefor serving as a means for removing the contents of the can or box, said attachment having a resilient portion'with a nor mal tendency to expand, said attachment having its ends frictionally engaging the inner walls of the flange of the cover and being of greater length than the diameter of the can or box and interposed between the upper edge of the wall of thecan or box and said cover and prevented from falling down into the can or box.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my signature.

GEORGE A. CLEMENT. 

